Automatic call distributors (ACDs) and other contact or call centers typically include specialized systems designed to match incoming requests for service, for example a telephone call or an e-mail, with a resource that is able to provide that service, for example a human call center agent. ACDs generally perform one or more of the following functions: (i) recognize and answer incoming calls; (ii) review database(s) for instructions on what to do with a particular call; (iii) using these instructions, identify an appropriate agent and queue the call, often times providing a prerecorded message; and (iv) connect the call to an agent as soon as the agent is available.
Some ACDs maintain queues that store calls while the calls are waiting to be connected with an agent. Furthermore, some systems dynamically move agents between queues, connecting these agents to calls in the queue. To achieve this functionality certain systems continuously calculate the service level (SL) for each queue. If they find that a certain queue is able to meet its target service level agreement (SLA) while another queue is falling behind, the system automatically moves agents from the queue that meets the SL to the queue that is falling behind.
In general, calls may be distributed among available agents in any appropriate manner to facilitate expedient handling of the calls. During busy times, calls may be stored in a queue until an agent becomes available to handle the call. During slow times, however, agents may wait idly until a caller calls into the ACD system. As a result, operation of the system may be inefficient, with agents wasting time when no callers are requesting service.
Additionally, in many types of ACDs, supervisors may monitor and/or record calls between callers and agents, either at the supervisor's discretion or at the request of the agent. Given enough storage, all calls can be recorded for post-call evaluation. Monitoring raises additional issues, however, particularly where the supervisor intends to monitor the call in real-time. Supervisors may be forced to monitor calls indiscriminately which may be unnecessarily time-consuming. Supervisors may also have access to call statistics to help them decide which calls to monitor and/or record, but using these statistics to determine when monitoring is appropriate may similarly require time expenditure that may prevent the supervisor from completing other tasks.